Sustainability is top of mind with consumers. They have more choice than ever on where to spend their money. So more than ever, companies are focusing on sharing their sustainability efforts with their customers. Does sustainability affect consumer buying? The data says yes.

ESG (Environmental, social and Governance) are the criteria used by companies to build value. They organize business objectives around sustainability-focused risks and opportunities. Initiatives can include customers, supply chain, and even employees of a company. So get started! Basically, start by tracking your company’s impact on the environment. Then, measure your sustainability. Finally, share the results. This process can influence consumer interest in your company, your products, and your services.

Sustainability: What is ESG?

The environmental, social, and corporate governance framework highlights three areas where companies can track their sustainability. This can illustrate their impact on the environment.

• Environmental: Does your company strive to preserve the natural world? Chiefly, talk to your consumers about how you are addressing climate change, pollution, water management or greenhouse gas emissions. This information could take the form of a Sustainability Report at the end of the year. We do this for our client Acme Brick every year. You might apply content marketing on your website. Or use social media posts to highlight specific places where your company has excelled.
• Social: Does your company focus on including and supporting a diverse community? Referred to as DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), this set of actions enhances employee engagement and retention. Firstly, this could look like employee spotlight blog posts. Or you can engage the public with PR. Additionally, you might establish and promote programs to broaden your talent pool. Or you could support employees by offering training programs, like our client Diamond Brand Gear does.
• Governance: This aspect of ESG covers topics like cybersecurity practices, corruption prevention and management structure. Indeed, talking about your company’s efforts in these areas reassures clients that your company is solid. It can highlight innovation. Generally, you can share posts on LinkedIn touting an advance your company has made in one of these areas, as an example.

Consumers Want to Buy From Companies That Support Sustainability

As 83% of consumers demand more ESG best practices from companies, 91% of business leaders now believe that their company has a responsibility to act on ESG issues. Conclusion? Obviously, consumers want to follow, buy from, and visit these companies more readily than ever before. And it’s not just consumers that want brands to take on these initiatives. 86% of employees say they’d prefer to work for companies that care about these issues. Sustainability has become one of the top issues that people care about.

Sustainability as a business goal is not a trend. Certainly, it is key to creating meaningful relationships with your customers and your employees. First, make sustainability your company’s business goal. Next, set up programs that support sustainability. Then, track and talk about your success. Therefore, this process is a fountain of content that you can share with your customers. Grow meaningful relationships with them centered on sustainability. And in turn, grow your sales based on your customers’ desire to make financial decisions tied to the social good your company is doing.

I get asked what it’s like to work with my mom, the boss of Front Porch Marketing, Chief Rocker Julie Porter. Well, let me tell you. It’s a lot harder than you would expect. Why? Because she expects so much more out of me and she knows that I’m capable of doing almost anything and everything.

Is work easier when your mom is the boss?

A lot of people usually say “oh she definitely lets you slack off” or “oh I bet it’s so easy”, but they couldn’t be more wrong. It adds a lot of pressure on me when I do work for my mom’s company, because I want to do my absolute best in order to impress my mom. I want to live up to her expectations of me. But, it is also very comforting to know that my mom is the boss and CEO. 

The boss always has your back

While she is always challenging and expecting the most out of me I know that she will always have my back and be the most understanding when it comes to work. No matter what, there will always be someone in my corner. She also tends to have a great support system.

She surrounds herself with the very best team members which makes my situation a lot more comforting. Seeing her support all of her employees, and create a successful remote working environment makes it a lot easier and more fun for me to do work for her, and the other Front Porch Marketing team members. I don’t say it a lot but when it comes to working with and for her sometimes, I can be a little excited. While she has taught me a lot about marketing, she’s also taught me about running a business. Because she is good at this.

Takeaways from a summer internship with a parent

All in all, this summer has been great so far and it has been a pleasure to heighten my business relationship with my mother. I’ve learned so much from my mom the boss, that I can apply to college and my future job endeavors. I owe it all to her and I love her so much. Thanks mom!

Marketing leaders, what are you doing to nurture relationships with your customers?

Consistency and connection nurture relationships. Sure, loyalty and points programs are tactics that bring brands and customers closer together.

But genuine allegiance is an outcome.

A recent conversation with a marketing leader provided inspiration. This marketing leader has had some challenges. But realized the value of marketing.

The company had cut the marketing budget. All the momentum that person built was put to a halt. And then the company brought in a consultant. First, he asked her what was happening on the marketing front. To which she replied, “Nothing.’ And, obviously he was shocked.

How to foster genuine relationships.

Business leaders do these four things:

1. Conviction – Know the brand. Marketing leaders walk the talk. And they demonstrate it every touchpoint. Then, clients and their customers can see it and feel it.
2. Consistency – Do you have a message map for your client? Share the value proposition of the brands you work on, on every platform, consistently.
3. Communication – Know your audience. Then recognize: how do they want to communicate? It isn’t about you. It is about what works for them. Marketing leaders will recognize this and pivot messaging to solve clients’ problems in a way that is meaningful and relevant to the client.
4. Connection – If there is consistency communicating the message, then the connection will happen. But as a marketing leader, how do you deepen the ties with your client and their customers?
   • Weekly meetings with clients
   • Weekly catch-up calls on both status of projects, and how pain points with consumers are being addressed
   • Notes on special days to recognize achievements
   • Boundaries set on both sides, so that both marketing and client are set up to succeed

Marketing leadership: Take inspiration. Deepen connections. Accelerate growth.

We love to partner with smart leaders who value marketing. And, if we can help, let’s talk about mutual partnership to grow top line sales.

Recent readings over Spring and Easter Breaks provided four great reminders for me as a business leader. And I hope they do the same for y’all too.

For those of you who do not know, one half of my heart – my son – attends Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, right outside Orlando.

We stayed at one of my favorite beaches over Easter, New Smyrna Beach, which is a hour drive from my “son~shine.” And, where I purchased a beach condo, aka short-term rental investment property, earlier this year. It is affectionately deemed the “money pit.” But that is a blog for another day. I digress.

Reminder One: Be a GD Cheetah

A beach read was Glennon Doyle’s Untamed. She shares a visit to the zoo and the Cheetah Run. The cheetah, Tabitha, is tamed. She performs on queue.

A little girl asked, “Doesn’t she miss the wild?”

Zookeeper comes back with a BS answer.

Doyle writes that Tabitha would sigh and say, “I should be grateful. I have a good enough life here. It is crazy to long for what does not even exist.”

“I’d say: Tabitha. You are not crazy. You are a GD cheetah.”

That had such a profound effect on me. I later cried as I read the excerpt aloud to my daughter. Without the GD, of course. And I asked her to promise me to always be herself. To be a cheetah.

Reminder Two: Finding Leverage

Not as an emotional experience for me, but profound none the less. Reading the latest issue of Entrepreneur Magazine.

Time is our inventory.

An article by Adam Bornstein explores business growth by not necessarily adding more people. Rather, exploring this. “Smart growth is not about spending more time, nor is it about maxing out your time. It is about finding leverage.”

Reminder Three: Damn the Sycophants

I cannot remember what the article was about. It was the word. The word I had to look up.

I was reminded, although sometimes painful, I treasure those around me who are not this.

Surround yourself with talented people. Those who are smarter than you. Formidable team members push back. They may not think like you. But they make the organization better. These folks fill in for your short falls.

Reminder Four: Being Too Efficient

In a past life, I was ultra-organized. I am a Franklin Covey Planner Training Course graduate for heaven’s sake. Organized all the things in my office and life.

Then, I started Front Porch Marketing. And, had my second child at an “advanced maternal age.”

Words quoted from Edward Tenner in another Entrepreneur Magazine article spoke to me. In summary, big business always has the advantage. However, entrepreneurs combine technology with connection to people. Something big companies cannot do.

Jason Feifer, author of the article, cited Blockbuster and Netflix as an example. Early in my career collaborating with folks at Blockbuster and Viacom shaped me into who I am today. And I am eternally grateful for those experiences. I saw how they tried to evolve. As well as saw what was attempted and did not happen. These learnings were invaluable.

So I hope these four reminders for business that I learned this spring will resonate with you too!

Social media trends for 2022 look a little different than last year.

Social media trends for 2022 will increasingly be about customer experience and personalization. Those agendas are paramount. And, most if not all social media platforms are increasingly moving more and more toward “pay to play”. In other words, platforms want you to pay to get people to see your social media. For instance, this looks like boosting posts on Facebook. Trends that involve an interaction with customers, and especially those that offer some measure of personalization (as opposed to just pushing out a message to everyone) will top brands’ to-do lists.

Here are some of the social media trends we see for 2022.

• Short-form Video – Less is more, and people don’t read. The human attention span is short. So, a video a minute or shorter is plenty long enough. Do a series of short videos each making one point, instead of one long video. Repurpose your existing long videos into shorter snippets and program them for different social media channels. Reveal a different aspect of your company, or solve a different problem on different channels as opposed to playing the same content on the same day on the same channels.
• Customer Service – Customers are conversing more than ever via DMs, Twitter and comments on posts. Monitor these conversations and be responsive on any channel that customers are contacting you on.
• Social Commerce – Customers want to check out immediately on whatever social channel they are on. Social commerce offerings (like buying a dress directly from an Instagram photo) are growing on every channel. Perhaps this social media trend is appropriate for your product or service.
• Paid Social Advertising – Algorithms continue to change. And, platforms continue to ramp up their paid social offerings. There may be a need to add a paid strategy to your organic posts to get wider reach and more engagement. The ultimate goal is connecting with more potential customers, right?
• Influencer Marketing – Micro or local influencers are more important. Work with these influencers who really already love your brand. They can demonstrate your product or service in a way that is unique to them and resonates with their audience.

Content remains king.

Have a plan. Don’t chase squirrels. Plan your content for the year – or at least the next quarter – to meet your brand’s sales goals, branding initiatives, limited offerings, or even just calendar holidays. Planning your content means have a blog and regularly contribute to it. Then, promote your new content on your social media platforms. Build your content marketing practice like you’d grow a garden. Keep at it.

What do customers want to know? Customers want content that is focused on:

• Deeper Meaning – Be authentic. Answer questions that are helpful and offer perspectives that can be touch points for your brand in a customer’s life. Find your commonality. Create your company’s tenets, and do those fewer stronger things in a deeper way.
• Giving Back – Showcase volunteer efforts and donations. A company’s charitable giving is important for 73% of Americans’ purchase decisions. People WANT to love you. Showcase how you are showing love for others. Giving back increases loyalty.

Overall, after the past few years of being disconnected, consumers are craving connection in every aspect of their lives. But make connection with your brand meaningful. Be convicted. Be consistent. Create a connection that will last, create loyalty, and continue these social media trends for 2022 to the years ahead.

How to make working together easier.

When you’re working together, the key to a successful partner relationship between an agency and an in-house marketing client is articulating goals on both sides. What does the in-house marketing director want out of the partnership? What role(s) will the agency fill? And for those on the agency side: what is the expertise that you are offering and how will it fit into the work and process of the in-house marketing department. Ultimately, what common goal is everyone working toward?

3 traits of a successful in-house marketing director (when working with an agency):

1. Treat the agency like a partner. Be available. Share the wins and the losses. Exchange information and best practices. Work united toward a common goal.
2. Let people do their job. It has been said many times – surround yourself with smart people and let them do their jobs. This is very true when working with an agency. You, as the in-house marketing director, know your brand better than anyone. But the agency will have deep knowledge in how to market your brand to the right people, at the right time, and in the right place. Take advantage of this expertise.
3. Be clear, concise and direct. Communication is key to a great in-house/agency working relationship. Having clear goals and being able give good feedback will make the process of creating great work run smoother.

3 traits of a successful agency (when working with an in-house client):

1. Be transparent. Give real world examples with data and KPI results to show that you know how to do this work successfully. Show and tell your successes that relate to your new client’s business to increase their confidence in your expertise.
2. Flatten your organization when it comes to direct contact. Allow clients to be able to communicate directly with different members of your team if they need an opinion on a specific matter. Shielding most of your agency from the client and running everything through gate-keeping account service people prevents deeper brand knowledge and deeper connections.
3. Prepare to collaborate. Including your client in the creative process will not only make the working relationship work better, the client will have the opportunity to “own” the idea with you. Then, you’ll have no better champion for your idea than your client as it moves up the C-Suite approval chain.

Growing your partnership and working together – in-house and agency – requires determination. First, be determined to recognize the value of the people that you are working with. And then, be steadfast in your determination to succeed together.

How to communicate corporate social responsibility for your brand

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a business’ commitment to philanthropic endeavors and environmentally friendly practices. It is essential for businesses in 2022. Why? Sure, today’s successful businesses are “responsible” organizations committed to profits. But in today’s world they are also responsible for other higher callings. Their consumers now demand it.

Gen Z is all in with brands who demonstrate corporate social responsibility. First, younger generations thirst for buying these products. Next, they want to work for these companies. So CSR gives businesses an opportunity to engage with not only their consumers and their employees, but with the communities in which they live and work in a meaningful way.

Yes, deeper client and customer connections will follow.

CSR efforts benefit the economy, society and environment. They demonstrate how the organization uses its resources in broadly beneficial and ethical ways. Showing that your company or brand is a responsible partner, employer and neighbor will be key to business success going forward.

How does a brand communicate CSR activities?

Talk about your company’s corporate social responsibility with a CSR report. A CSR report highlights your organization’s achievements. It builds social responsibility into your brand’s identity. This report makes the organization accountable to its stakeholders. And it shows progress year over year. Then highlight how your company has saved energy or fuel, renewed land, or reduced their carbon footprint. Finally, showcase better employees work environments with safety initiatives. Also implement DE & I programs that promote equity in hiring and promoting employees.

Your CSR report’s content can then be repurposed all year long as social media assets. Highlight individual specific goals your company has met with this effort. Statistics and data can be turned into compelling visuals and narratives that speak to your customers, your client partners, your employees and your community. Communicate your social responsibility efforts in these ways:

• Email Marketing – create an eblast once a month or quarterly to key stakeholders
• Social Media – create content and consistently communicate, once a week or month
• Internal Communication – utilize existing intranet or internal emails to communicate CSR activities

What size business needs to show Corporate Social Responsibility?

A CSR report may be easier for larger businesses to execute. But, small to midsize businesses can do it too. These businesses are exercising the same values albeit in smaller, yet still remarkable ways. And that is worth talking about. CSR activities can separate your business from the competition in a truly meaningful way. So consider incorporating this important effort into your business.

Our 2021 Christmas cards arrived early this year … shocking friends and family and prompting messages like “first card received” “winning” “overachiever” – well-intended messages that gave me a good chuckle. Holiday cards are a highlight of the season for me. The responses of being first, winning and overachieving, prompted thinking about how the concept of winning is engrained in our daily lives. It has become a measurement tool of our success. Whether it’s in athletics, business, or life, we want to win. What does winning mean to you? To your business?

I have two young athletes in my house, they are competitive, they like to get medals, but they also know how to lose. In athletics it is easy to define. You come out on top, or you learn and grow.

Defining what winning means in business.

It is not as clearly defined in business. How do we define winning professionally? Is it getting trophy, certificates, nominations, or promotions? Is it having the highest sales? Beating a competitor? Selling the most widgets? Making it to market first? Or could it be something different?

“Winning is fun … sure. But winning is not the point. Wanting to win is the point. Not giving up is the point. Never letting up is the point. Never being satisfied with what you’ve done is the point.”

— Pat Summitt

Being the best version of you.

It’s not about performing better than others, rather it is performing to our highest abilities. You can be great without being first, and you can lose coming out on top. In this framing how do you win? You do this by performing to the best of your abilities.

“Competing at the highest level is not about winning. It’s about preparation, courage, understanding and nurturing your people, and heart. Winning is the result.”

— Joe Torre

Back to the holiday cards, absolutely was not going for the gold by sending a piece of paper to my family and friends, however, being the best professionally and personally in Pat Summitt’s context would be a great ’22 accomplishment.

As we march toward a new year how will you resolve to win and how can we help you?

Connections are everything. I take a moment each Thanksgiving to relay how grateful I am for those in my life. This year is no different in that regard. I am beyond thankful for my family, friends, colleagues, and clients. This year, I am also incredibly grateful for the connections and opportunities the Porch has created.

This business has always depended on connections. Regular readers of our blog know we preach the importance of authentic connections. Yet, like many others, I treated the multitude of opportunities to connect as a dependable part of daily life. It was something that just occurred naturally. Then, 2020 hit.

Connections became a carefully orchestrated medley of virtual meetings. We interacted online, on the phone, or via email. But, without the constant ability to see smiles. Opportunities for real connection had to be well-crafted and thought out.

Connections to New Opportunities

With new challenges come new opportunities, however. For that, I am also grateful. I have not previously put pen to paper and included being a certified Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) and Historically Underutilized Business (HUB), through the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, on my gratitude list.

So it is here to stay now! We have had these certifications for seven years. And I have always held this certification near and dear.

In preparation for Q1 2022 sales, I have been cranking on RFPs for significant business that I could not bid on without these certifications. Opportunities through connections that I made over the past several years through these certifications now have a very tangible benefit for the future of the Porch.

First, I am honored by the business opportunities these certifications have bestowed upon us, and the myriad of connections I’ve made through holding them. And second, I am thrilled to be a part of helping others construct and market their own brands.

This Thanksgiving, all of us on the Porch hope you and yours cherish the opportunities to connect. Connect with your loved ones, your business associates and your friends. We encourage you to look at the connections you’ve made to see what opportunities are out there – both to connect and to grow. We’re grateful to connect to you! Rock on this Thanksgiving!

Sales and selling never stops. What you are doing today impacts future sales the next quarter and beyond. Recently, we have heard of companies and non-profits pulling back on their marketing based on success to date, cash flow, lack of resources and/or business leader fatigue, among other things.

We know it is the end of another very long year, and you may be tired and lacking in energy and resources. But going dark isn’t the answer. There are ways to continue marketing efforts with less cash, less effort or less time. Build momentum and keep it going.

Be smart about what you’re doing today – impact future sales tomorrow.

Get the most out of your marketing efforts in a consistent, strategic way.

For instance, if your busy season is Q1, use Q4 to set your strategies, and get your ideas and materials ready so all you must do is hit “go” when you’re at the peak of utilizing your manpower in other areas throughout Q1. Have your plan for next quarter all ready to work for you.

As an example, we have already approved plans and strategies, are securing paid media schedules, and developing creative assets for Girl Scouts Texas Oklahoma Plains’ (GSTOP) Q1 initiatives. Doing this now means they can simply hit send when they are at their busiest time in January – gearing up for Girl Scout Cookie Sales time!

Here are six other ways to market now and help yourself later:

1. Run a brand campaign. You can keep it simple or gear up for a big push. Just make sure you do something to get and keep your name out there. Always remember that new clients or customers take time to make a decision and do research before buying.
2. Make a list so you can check it twice. First, create a list of prospective audiences to whom you can market. Then, build on this base list. This can include:
   a. Past customers / clients
   b. Prospects or past website visitors
3. Check Google trends. Find out what main keywords may be trending that relate to your business. Spend now to get noticed and included in these trends.
4. Develop or redesign your website. Do not wait for Q1 to jump back on this task. Get it done now so it is ready to launch in Q1. 4th Quarter is the perfect time to refresh and update the content on your website.
5. Send those emails. E-mail marketing is cheap and easy but halting your monthly communication will affect results when you start back up. Don’t lose momentum. Don’t rest and count on past success to continue. If you’re not consistent, your sales won’t be, either.
6. Stay active on social media. Your audience is listening, even if passively. Be consistent and engaged. Build your audience now, so they’re with you when all your big news hits next year.

So, when is a “safe’ time to put the brakes on marketing your brand? Around a quarter to … never.

Building and maintaining a successful brand requires continuity. Consistent marketing creates and sustains trust with your audience. Don’t stop marketing your brand when cash and/or resources are low. Don’t stop marketing your brand based upon success to date.

Your brand doesn’t wait while you’re tired. Your brand deserves continuous marketing effort, in some way, to make an impact both now and in your future sales. Don’t ever stop.

Stop and start marketing is not an option for successful brands.

Get out there and keep rocking your brand. Call us to help. The Porch is always ready to roll.